Richmond in deep doo-doo with dog bylaws 0
By Daniel Fontaine, Dialogue with a Difference
(FILE PHOTO)
Dog days:
If you live in Richmond you might be interested to learn their city council has adopted a raft of new bylaws aimed at making dog owners more obedient. The most controversial component is the requirement to show your identification to bylaw officers if they believe you have broken the law.
Canine lovers will now face fines of $200 for refusing to pull out their driver’s licence. Bylaw officers can even ask the RCMP to get involved if you refuse to identify yourself. It’s all part of a crackdown by local politicians to ensure your pooch leaves the park as clean as when it got there.
While Richmond should be commended for attempting to keep the city free of dog poop, they get thumbs down for their heavy-handedness. Surely better education and public awareness campaigns could have garnered the same results, without having to waste valuable police resources.
Let it rain:
If you have lived in Vancouver for longer than a few days, you know it rains a lot. Yet you would never know that by the number of buildings constructed for a sunnier California climate. Many of them simply lack the proper awnings to help keep sidewalks and pedestrians dry.
If we want more people to walk to their destinations, cities should make it mandatory that the needs of pedestrians are placed as a higher priority. That means wherever possible the design should ensure sidewalks are fully covered in order to protect passersby from the elements.
That’s why I give thumbs down to city planners who focus more on a building’s fashion, rather than its function.
Flushing your tax dollars:
When it comes to rising costs in our cities, most of us focus on the increase in property taxes from year to year. What is often overlooked are the massive charges city politicians impose when it comes to basic utilities such as sewer, water and garbage pickup.
That’s why I recently attended a public budget meeting in New Westminster to see what they had in store when it comes to utility charges. What the budget chief had to report was a shock to my wallet.
According to 2012 figures sent to me by the New Westminster director of finance, at $473.94 per year, the Royal City had the highest sewer charges in Metro Vancouver. I am unsure as to why. Overall in 2012, their homeowners also paid an average of $1,077.62 per annum for utilities. Only Coquitlam ($1,107) and the District of North Vancouver ($1,294) levied higher fees, the figures say.
That’s why New Westminster deserves thumbs down for literally flushing your tax dollars down the drain.
Daniel Fontaine is a local political commentator. Follow him on Twitter @Fontaine_D.
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